Ties of Friendship (Closed)

[Novar Ohan]

A soft melody floated through the air, bouncing off the walls and echoing around the small room. The accompaniment was not at all in tune, instead it was a steady beating sound that changed tempo as the notes were interrupted. The air was thick with mist, which clung to the mirror, windows and any surface that was the tiniest bit shiny. Anyone who could see into the room would not need to be detective to know that Elizabeth was enjoying her final shower before returning home. The warm water splashed down on her head, as she once more stepped under the flow. Her eyes were closed, the images on her lids were those of the last three weeks that she had spent getting to know Novar Ohan. Her heart felt more than a little heavy at leaving, while at the same time held a little excitement at returning home. If she could be in both places at the same time, the young woman would have been extremely happy.

Reaching her hand out blindly, Eliza found the tap and turned the shower off, not moving until the final drips fell upon her hair, before working their way down the length of her body, causing her to smile as it tickled her skin. Finally she flicked open her eyes, not really finding much benefit from doing so. Her hand found the towel, only because it was always in the same place. She started drying herself off, fighting a losing battle against the water that was dripping off her hair onto her shoulders and back. The white material wrapped around her body, covering her from just above her breasts to halfway down her thigh, held together by the tiny portion that was stuffed down the top. Another was grabbed, as she worked on rubbing the excess water from her hair.

Pulling open the bathroom door, she shivered as the cold air from her bedroom hit her heated skin. Her eyes flicked over the interior, feeling sad that she had just one more night in the now familiar bed. She walked over to the bed and perched on the edge, as she continued to work on her hair.

If Simon had known what was happening on the other side of the door, he doubtless would have avoided involving himself. Still, the young man was too deep in his thoughts even to consider anything. It had been a very strange couple of weeks for him. An upsetting couple of weeks, but it had also been wonderful, because, well, she had been here and he had been able to hide in just enjoying her company. He didn't know what he would do after she left. He was at loose ends, anyway. Eliza leaving hurt, but he knew she had to go. He did want to say goodbye before she left, though, and in somewhat more privacy than the foyer, with Lady Margaret and the servants. Or the airport. He knocked on her door and rubbed the back of his head, just waiting.

The humming had begun again, as Eliza gave up on drying her hair and wrapped the towel around her head, to stop any missed drips from running down her neck. But she was struggling to get the thing to remain seated on her head, which caused her tune to become more strangled in nature. “Come in,” she called, grateful for the interruption. She was more than a little sure that she would be cursing if the towel did not do as it was supposed to. Lady Margaret had popped down the hall to finish her own packing, but her arrival meant that she had either finished or needed Eliza for something.

She leant over her legs, her hair dangling towards the floor. She held the towel over her head , covering her face and head. She got to her feet, as she wrapped the towel around her hair, ready to stand and flick the end over her back. If that did not keep the thing on, nothing would.

Owing to an architectural quirk of the castle, doors opened inwards to allow them to be more easily secured from the inside. So, as Simon opened the door, and then turned to close it, he didn't notice anything. At least, not until he had turned to face her. And then things happened quickly. His eyes widened, his cheeks reddened, and he closed his eyes tightly. "E-E-Eliza!" He gasped. It was too late, the image already burned forever into his memories.

Elizabeth was halfway through her manoeuvre, when she heard the voice of Simon rather than the expected one belonging to Lady Margaret. Thrown off her stride, the towel slipped from her head, falling in a heap on the floor as she turned and looked at the young man. “Simon?” Her hands moved to the top of her towel and the bottom at the same time, as if she could make it somehow larger. “I...ah...I...” She looked at him and smiled, her cheeks instantly reddening. “I thought you were Lady Margaret.”

"I... I... I'm sorry!" He stumbled further into the room, turning around. "I... I didn't see anything!" Which was true, so far as it went. He had seen enough, though, and he wanted to leave before he humiliated himself even more. Unfortunately, his eyes, being closed, did not let him know where he was going or why, and he wound up tripping over a shoe. "Ow!" Confused and in pain, he wound up tripping over some of her baggage and toppled forward, knocking into her and collapsing her onto the bed, him following. Fortunately for both of them, the bed was soft and the impact wasn't that hard. Fortunately for Eliza, he had the foresight to stick his hands out to hold him up and grabbed the bed, instead of just landing all his weight on her. Fortunately for Simon, his head landed on something soft. Unfortunately for Simon, that something soft was Eliza, and when his eyes opened and she recovered from the shock...

The sequence of events that followed her first words to Simon was almost a blur, ending with the two of them rather unceremoniously ending up on the bed. “Ah, Simon...” The young woman, unable to move was not sure what kind of state the young man was in or what state he would be in when he opened his eyes and found his head resting against her breasts.

He opened his eyes, and was somewhat surprised that everything was white. He pushed his head forward slightly, feeling the white yield momentarily, just slightly, and then resist the pressure. He frowned and rolled his head on its side. His eyes widened, and his cheeks reddened as he lifted his head off her. "E-Eliza... I... oh my god." He rolled away from her and covered his eyes with his hands.

“It’s okay,” Eliza said, fighting the urge to break into a fit of laughter, not because of his reaction, more to do with the shock of the fall. “No harm done.” She pushed herself up into a sitting position, her hand instantly moving to the top of the towel, making sure the garment was secured around her. Looking at her lap, she was grateful that the white material had not risen more than an inch up her leg.

Simon's cheeks stayed red. "I... I didn't mean..." Wow, he couldn't believe he had touched... no! That wasn't what he should be thinking! "I just wanted to speak to... I mean..." His thoughts were more jumbled than usual.

Relieved that she had not caused more hassle by flashing at Simon, Eliza reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m glad you came to see me.” She lowered her eyes briefly, as she controlled her face. She so wanted to laugh at what had happened, but she was not sure it would help. “I...ah...I wish I had been better dressed for your visit.” Unable to resist, she giggled softly. “I’m sorry. But...” The giggle grew louder until she had to stop speaking and let the laughter flow.

He trembled under her hand, and almost looked upset at being laughed at. But after a moment or two he laughed with her, embarassed. "It's okay... I... um..." He went tongue-tied. "Y-you're very, very pretty. W-want me to go?"

“No, I don’t want you to go,” she said, her laughter dying, until there was just a trace of humour in her voice. “Not if you are going to pay me compliments, anyway.” She pointed passed him at the chair beside the bed. “Can you pass me my robe?” If nothing else, the least she could do to make him feel better was to put on some clothing.

He stood up slowly and went to the chair, then passed her the robe. He was still in a state akin to shock as he looked at her, his mind boggling at just where his head had been resting. He blushed crimson and smiled shyly, not sure what to say now.

Eliza stood up and slipped the robe on, then turned away to pull the towel from around her body. Her hand clenched it tightly, as she turned back to look at her friend, smiling. “I’m glad you came. I was hoping that I would see you this evening, before I had to...you know.” Saying leave was oddly difficult. She let out a sigh, as the thought of saying goodbye to her new friend was harder than she thought it would be. “I have had the best time here with you. Thank you for looking after me, especially after all that has happened.” She dropped the towel onto the bed and played with the belt of her robe instead.

"Y-you're welcome." He said with a smile, shifting on his seat and eventually crossing one leg over the other after he looked at her. "But it's not like I was going to do anything else, y-you're my guest." He coughed, struggling to find the confidence he had felt five minutes ago. "And my friend. A-and I wanted to give you something. Um... I'm not sure if you'll like it, but I thought of it after you told me that story, and I thought you might like it." He chewed on his lip for a moment, a bit nervously, as he reached into one of his pockets, looking up at his beautiful friend. He produced a slim, hardcover book with a whirling design on the front cover. "It's a book of fairy tales. Um... I know it's not much, but... um. It belonged to my grandmother."

The young woman watched as Simon revealed the gift, a huge smile growing on her lips, her eyes flicking between the book and his face. “It’s perfect. I don’t know what to say.” She lowered her eyes, her cheeks taking on a pink hint. “Other than thank you. It’s very kind of you.” A little nervous laugh escaped her lips, as she blinked away some tears that were threatening to fall. “I...ah...I have something for you too,” she moved over to the bedside table, where a small wrapped parcel was sitting. She had planned to give him it the following day as she left, but as they were exchanging gifts. “This is not as good as what you gave me, but I thought you could have it until I could get you something better.”

Inside the parcel, when he finally opened it, he would find a picture of the two of them that had been taken by Lady Margaret during the first week of her stay, before Simon’s father had been killed. It was in a simple black frame that had been the best that the young woman could find at short notice. “So you don’t forget me.”

Simon opened the parcel and looked at the picture. He bit his tongue, feeling a few tears trickle down his cheeks despite his best efforts. "Eliza." He said after a moment. "I couldn't forget about you. It's not... I... you..." He stood up and went to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. He wasn't sure what to do, but he could see she was crying. "I... I'm sorry my gift isn't as nice..."

Eliza looked up into his face and tried to smile. “Your gift is wonderful.” Seeing him cry had allowed her to release her own misery. “I wish we did not have to do this.” A large sigh escaped from her lips. “Leaving friends is the worst thing ever, especially when you have no idea when you will see them again.” She took a step forward, wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.

He blushed hot red when he felt her hug him, and put his arm around her. He had no idea what to do, he'd never thought this kind of thing would happen. "I... Eliza..." He smiled a bit shyly. "W-what if I went with you? Or... I don't know, went there in a couple of weeks?" It was an incredible leap of thought for him, but he was under pressure and he just wanted her to feel better.

“You would come to visit me in Tartarus?” Her voice was muffled against his body, but there was no hiding the surprise that tinged her words. She had debated asking him to if he would like to be her guest in the future, but she had envisioned his reply to be in the negative.

"Y-yeah, if... if you want me to." He wasn't sure she would. He didn't think he'd made that positive of an impact on her, since he had been so underconfident.

[Gehenna Tartarus]

The Devenish family had resided at Selton Park since the first Duke had been gifted it three hundred years. The huge stately home sat amongst a sprawling landscape of formal lawns, rolling hills and wooded areas that were home to deer and other livestock. A place used to royalty, it became the home of Emperor Erebus’s youngest sister, Princess Lavinia when she married Philip Devenish, the Duke of Lorm. The Emperor, unlike most of his predecessors, was not in favour of bringing foreign blood into his family, so he gave his blessing to the three Princesses marrying Tartarians.

The house staff were busy inside making the final preparations for the arrival of a guest. The guest wing was being made ready for the arrival of Simon VII D'Arquis, Duc de Calyis. Despite having not met him personally, the young man was invited as a guest of the Duke of Lorm and Princess Lavinia, rather than their youngest daughter Elizabeth, as it would have been unfitting for him to stay there in her name.

The young woman in question was a little more agitated than normal, as the time to his arrival drew near. She had wanted to go to the airport to meet him, but her father had put his foot down and had sent a driver instead. Her mother had almost fainted at the suggestion, though everyone who knew Princess Lavinia would contest the fact, as the woman had the constitution of an ox.

To fill up the time while she waited, Eliza spent the time in her room reading the book that she had received from Simon at the end of her stay in Novar Ohan. She had read it several times already and allowed her to keep out of the way of her sister Marissa, who had been growing increasingly annoying over the last week and her brother, who had taken it upon himself to tease her endlessly.

* * * * *

Downstairs, the two people in question were sitting in the lounge talking. The older child and heir, Hugo was seated in a high backed chair that rested near the huge fireplace. His sister, the middle child, was relaxing on a couch, her legs curled up beneath her.

“I cannot believe that Papa has allowed him to stay here,” Marissa stated for the umpteenth time since Simon’s visit had been arranged. “Beth has not even been presented to Society and already she had men staying.”

Hugo laughed and shook his head. “You are only jealous because he has never allowed you to have anyone stay over.” He looked out of the window that looked out over one of the flower gardens. “Father can trust her not to go wandering around the house late at night.”

An abrupt laughed sounded from the young lady. “Oh, you are so funny, Hugo.” She uncurled her legs and rested her feet on the floor. “He probably does not think it possible that anyone would be interested in the little bookworm.” Getting to her feet, she walked over to where her brother was sitting. “And even if this Simon is interested in our little sister, you can bet he is going to a tiresome bore and of no interest to anyone, other than Beth. I cannot believe Mother wanted us here for when he arrived.”

Hugo looked up into his sister’s face. “Are you telling me that you are not looking forward to his arrival? I know I am.” He chuckled to himself as he watched the expression on her face. “I pity the poor boy having to experience Tartarus under the same roof as you.”

“Now, now, Hugo, you know I promised to be on my best behaviour.” She gave her brother her most innocent smile, which worked on most people, but not someone who knew her as well as he did. “And what interest could I possibly have in a sixteen year old? Give me some credit.” She moved away towards the door.

“Where are you going?”

She turned and smiled. “I’m going to check on Beth. The poor little dear is probably getting all worked up with excitement about her little friend coming to visit.” She headed on out of the door before her brother could say anything more.

* * * * *

Fortunately for all concerned, before Marissa could make it upstairs, there was a message from the driver that the car was only five minutes away from the house, which meant it had just pulled through the gate, and were making their way down the drive towards the entrance of the house.

As with most houses, the designers liked to go with dramatic reveals, so the route down the drive was shielded by trees and twisted slightly, meaning that the structure itself could not been seen other than through leaves a bit at a time. Once the car reached turned into the last straight, the house revealed itself slowly. It was only when the car finally passed out of the avenue that the building was revealed in all its glory. But for someone who lived in a similar fashion the dramatic effect was probably wasted.

Driving around the circular section of the road that was directly opposite the house’s huge front doors, the car slowed and then stopped. Waiting at the top of the stairs was a single member of staff, who made his way down and opened the car door just as reached its final destination. The liveried man stood back to allow the passenger to alight.

At the top of the stairs, the door opened a little and the one familiar face in Tartarus appeared, a huge smile on her face, as she waited for Simon to climb out of the vehicle. Beside her appeared a man, who could only be the Duke, and his wife, Princess Lavinia. The last two members of the family remained inside the house, to make Simon's introduction less daunting.

[Novar Ohan]

Simon chewed nervously on his lower lip. He had been looking forward to this trip ever since Eliza had left, but he wasn't sure what type of welcome he would find. His memory was still fixated on that last night together, the wonderful feeling of his head resting against her chest... He blushed and tried to get control of himself. Next to him, his manservant chatted aimlessly about the weather, about the flight, about all sorts of things that the young man didn't care about and wasn't paying attention to.

Instead, as the car slowly turned up the drive, he looked up at the manor. It was definitely a beautiful house. He was jealous of it, in truth. His own home was an ancient, crumbling and overly fancy castle that was cold even in summer, apart from the private apartments. He wondered what her family would be like, and straightened his collar. Sebastien had insisted he needed to be dressed the part when going to meet Eliza's parents, and Simon had been too tired of his cousin's teasing to argue.

As the car stopped and the door was opened, he nervously picked up the flower bouquet. He hadn't dared to ask anyone what would be an appropriate gift when visiting, and had been forced to grab inspiration from movies. "Um..." He stood there, holding the flowers loosely, looking up at Eliza and her... 'Oh God her parents are right here I need to say something quickly!' "H-hello, Eliza...beth." He tacked on, unsure if it was appropriate to call her 'Eliza' in front of her parents. "I'm really happy to see you again." And he was. She looked even more beautiful than she had in his dreams, seeing her up there. He smiled and took some strength from the smile she had greeted him with, and bowed to the Duke and Duchess of Lorm. "I'm honoured to be here, Your Grace, Your Highness. Thank you for your kind invitation..." He nervously held out the flowers.

[Gehenna Tartarus]

It felt like an age before Simon climbed out of the car, even if it had been less than a minute since Elizabeth had exited the house and stood at the top of the steps with her parents. She hated that they had decided to make everything so formal, even if her friend was a duke and deserved to be treated as such. It riled her to think how Simon would hate his first few minutes at her home, knowing that he would feel uncomfortable with her parents waiting for him.

As soon as he spoke, Eliza moved away from her parents and accepted the flowers, smiling, a slight blush touching her cheeks. Before she said anything, she heard the familiar sound of her father’s voice fill the air. Despite his commanding presence, he was mildly spoken and was by far her favourite parent. Not that she would ever let her mother know that. He also took a few steps forward and presented his hand to Simon.

“Your Grace, it is with pleasure that we invite you into our home.” As he spoke he indicated the entrance to the house. “We have lain on some refreshments for you in the Drawing Room. Travelling always leaves one feeling a little dry.” He had met more than enough people to know when one of them was a little nervous. “Elizabeth, would you like to lead the way?”

Giving Simon and encouraging smile, she walked back towards the door. “I’m happy to see you too,” she finally answered, getting him to herself for a moment. Her parents would follow them in shortly, but they would let them have a little space. Good hosts knew how to make their guests feel not only welcome but at ease too. “I thought that you were never going to get here.” She looked down at her flowers and sniffed their aroma. “These are very beautiful.”

As if my magic, a young lady appeared and took the flowers from the Elizabeth. Later, when she retired for the night, the bouquet would appear in her room, where one of the staff would take them once they had been arranged. No longer having something to hold, she felt a little fidgety.

“Did you have a good flight? I know it can get very bumpy flying in at this time of year.” She stepped through the door to the Drawing Room, hearing her parents’ footsteps following them across the floor. “But at least you arrived in good weather, we were a little worried that it might have been raining when you got here and the drive from the airport is much nicer if you can see the surrounding countryside.” She paused for a moment and laughed at herself. “I...ah....probably should give you a chance to say something too.”

* * * * *

The Duke and his wife walked into the hall, which was dominated by the huge staircase that greeted the eye and led it up towards the huge portrait that resided on the wall, as was traditional in most county houses. The stairs then parted, splitting into two opposite directions at right-angles to the main slope, before curving around slightly as they disappeared from view. The Duke cast his eye downward from his lofty position, welcoming his guests into his house. Four smaller portraits accompanied alongside, two to either side, the Princess Lavinia and her youngest daughter on one side, and his heir and oldest daughter on the other.

“He seems pleasant enough,” the Duke said as he watched the two young people enter the Drawing room. “A little on edge perhaps, which, I have no doubt, will disappear once he has been here a little while.” He gave his wife a smile. “I think we should let him get a little settled before we introduce him to Hugo and Marissa.”

* * * * *

The Drawing Room looked like an antique shop, only better laid out and liveable. The walls were covered with paintings of ancestors and tapestries. The furniture looked old and very uncomfortable for relaxing in, but was in very good condition, due to it not being used very often. The family had informal rooms that they lived in most of the time and would do after the initial meeting, but as was traditional with all guests, they were introduced to the household in the Jasmine Drawing Room, which got its name from the pattern that appeared on the wall coverings and fabrics that decorated the room.

The fire, despite it being warm outside, was alight and blazing away under the ornate fireplace. In the middle of the room were two couches and two chair positioned around a table. Over near the wall was another table laden with a coffee and tea pot and a jug of lemonade, which had been put out as soon as the car had arrived. An assortment of small bite sized sandwiches and nibbles were laid out on various plates, alongside some plates, cups and glasses.

“I apologise for all the fuss.” Elizabeth looked more than a little guilty at putting Simon through all the hassle of meeting her family. “I wanted to come and meet you at the airport, but Mother said that this was the way to greet a guest properly.”

* * * * *

Outside by the car, the man who had opened the door, climbed into the car and with Simon’s manservant travelled around the back of the house, where they would empty the car of the visitor’s belongings. The housekeeper would escort the man upstairs to the room that had been allocated to the young Duke and would show him his own accommodation, before giving him a brief rundown of the house rules and a tour of the main rooms that Simon would need to know the location of.

While this was happening, their belongings were taken up to their rooms. The manservant would then be invited to take refreshments with the other members of staff. Over tea, he would be able to address any issues he might have or put in a request for anything that he might need to make Simon’s stay as comfortable as possible.

[Novar Ohan]

Simon hadn't expected her to want him to say anything. In his heart, he had hoped that his appearance would lead to Eliza running to him and throwing her arms around him. He had known it wouldn't happen, but it was a good thing to want. Instead, when she waited for him to speak, he found himself going tongue-tied, trying to put thoughts into words. "I'm very glad to be here," he said, truthfully. "The flight took a very long time, but I managed to sleep for a couple of hours... and... well, the countryside is beautiful. Almost as beautiful as... uh..." As you, he wanted to say, but it was cliche and possibly inappropriate, "uh... something very beautiful."

He noticed she was fidgeting, and wondered if it would be appropriate to take her hand. By the time he had managed to convince himself to do so, though, his fingers nervously moving around hers, they were already halfway through the door of the drawing room. "I'm glad you liked the flowers, they reminded me of you." He didn't really know what else to say right now. He felt constrained by the knowledge her parents would be coming in shortly after them, in addition to his own nervousness at seeing her again. Still, there was no reason to let her see his nervousness. Sebastien had always laughed at him for his cowardice, but he wanted to show Eliza and her parents that he could be more than just some big lout.

The boy squared his shoulders and managed to smile at Eliza, a smile that became genuine as he remembered his warm feelings for her, feelings that were partly embarrassing, but still very much friendly. "I'm glad to be here. It's very nice and I've never been to a foreign country before. But mostly, I've... uh... missed you." He said this nervously, but in defiance of that same nervousness.

[Gehenna Tartarus]

Elizabeth smiled as she felt Simon’s hand take hers. Her fingers circled around his, squeezing his hand tenderly. Her eyes lit up and her smile grew, as she met his gaze and saw that he was not looking as nervous as he had been on the steps to the house. “I missed you too.” There was a slight pause, as she forced herself not to go into another rushed speech. She was so excited to have him in her home, that she wanted everyone to know.

“I really hope that your first foreign visit is enjoyable. I want you to have much fun here as I did when I stayed with you.” She blushed instantly, realising that she had completely dismissed the sad part where his father had died. “I...um...I have some things arranged for us to do, but my parents advised that I should make sure you get to do the things you want to do as well. But we can arrange that later, it’s not like you are about to rush off or anything.”

She laughed at herself, realising that she was doing a poor job of not waffling. “Would you like something to drink?” She looked over at the refreshment table, indicating that they could take refreshments if he needed something. “We are not having dinner until seven, so you might want to eat too. If there is nothing you want, we can get you something else instead.”

Whether he wanted something or not, she guided them through the room, moving them away from the door. She was mildly surprised that her parents had not followed them straight in, but they were obviously confident that leaving the two in the room with the door open was sufficient to stop anything untoward happening. Not that she would do anything to upset them, and she was sure that Simon would not either.

“Tomorrow, if the weather holds out, I thought we could go riding around the grounds,” she continued as she looked down at the refreshments on offer. “That’s if you want to, of course. We can do something else, if you would rather not be in a saddle so soon after sitting so long on a plane.” She stopped suddenly and laughed again. “I am so happy you are here, I cannot stop talking.”

[Novar Ohan]

"Oh, I'm... I'm really not hungry." Simon was actually very content just to sit there, holding her hand. "Really, though. I'm fine doing whatever you want. So long as I'm with you." He left that for a moment, then realized he had done so and moved on quickly. "I mean, I wouldn't know what I was doing without you, would I!" It was said with a bit of urgency, as if he was scared he had let a secret out and wanted to catch it.

"Um... I would love to ride with you. I'm just..." He didn't know how to finish that sentence, and so he poured her a drink, then himself one, sipping it from his free hand to keep himself from needing to speak. For a moment, he thought worriedly, looking into her beautiful green eyes. For that moment, it really didn't matter what he was going to say, his voice stilled while his heart reached out and grabbed his windpipe. Despite his best efforts, their time together came spiraling across his eyes; her presence when he had needed someone, those two kisses he had stolen (the first kisses in his life, and the taste of her lips came back to his memory unbidden, his breath speeding slightly), that last night, where he had fallen against her and felt her under him, felt his head against... he coloured. Focus on her eyes! "Glad to see you." He finished, a bit lamely.

[Gehenna Tartarus]

Elizabeth took the drink and sipped thoughtfully, as she listened to Simon. She was very aware of how he must be feeling, if it was not obvious from his actions and speech. Her lips moved into a smile as she lowered the glass. “I want you to have fun while you are here and maybe do some things that you have never done before. Not that I know everything you have never done, but I am sure we’ll find something.” Her eyes remained fixed to his, as she spoke, so much so that she did not see her mother appear through the door of the Drawing Room.

“I am pleased you found the refreshments,” she said, as a way of introducing her arrival, as she noted the two young people were lost in conversation. “Please bring your drinks with you and we will make ourselves comfortable over here.” The comfortable she was referring to were the two couches that dominated the middle of the room, where she was heading herself. As she took a seat, her husband followed her into the room.

The Duke gave his daughter and Simon a brief look and then made his way over to the seats. Unlike his wife, he did not sit immediately instead he waited for the two youngsters to move away from the refreshments. “I hope that you will make yourself at home, Simon, while you are our guest. If there is anything you need, we will do our best to get it for you.” He indicated the seat opposite the one his wife had taken.

The youngest Tartarian guided Simon over to the seat and made herself comfortable in the chair her father had pointed to. Her fingers still wrapped around Simon’s, she gently tugged him down into the seat. “I was just telling Simon that tomorrow we will go riding, so that I can show him around the estate.”

“It is a lovely ride around here,” her mother said, bringing herself into the conversation. “We have a good selection of horses, so you really should have no trouble finding one that you like. My nephew, Lord Val Stratton has been helping us to stock our stables.” She paused, not wanting to swamp him with family details. Elizabeth would cover that with him before they went to Erebus.

Elizabeth nodded. “I have already picked out a couple for Simon to look at,” she said, as she turned to her friend and smiled. “We can go down to the stables and look before dinner, if you would like.”

[Novar Ohan]

Simon smiled sincerely. "Thank you, Your Grace. I am certain I will find a horse that will suit me. My grandfather owned a stud from Tartarus and he always swore by it." The Ohanite nervously fiddled with Eliza's fingers, maybe concerned that 'stud' was far too sexual a term. "Please, though, I don't want to be a problem, I would be happy while I am here to take part in whatever you would normally do, Your Grace, Your Highness."

[Gehenna Tartarus]

“We do a wide range of activities and while you are here, we hope that you will join in with any that you think you will enjoy,” the Duke responded, being the polite host that he always was. He was not the kind of man the expected his guests to do whatever he did, just because they were staying in his house. There were many things to do around the estate, and even more further afield.

His daughter smiled at both her parents, as she squeezed Simon’s hand encouragingly. “Firstly, I will show Simon where he is residing in the house and then we will take a stroll outside.” She turned to the young man as she spoke. “After sitting for so long during your journey here, you will probably feel better walking around for a while.”